Surging from its lead-in at 8:30 p.m., ABC’s “The Middle” stood as the No. 1 regular program in its time slot with viewers (7.2 million) and young adults (2.4/7). In Adults 18-49, “The Middle” outdelivered NBC’s “Mercy” by 71% (1.4/4) and Fox’s “Human Target” by 9% (2.2/6). In fact among young Adults, the ABC freshman comedy has been thehighest-rated scripted show in its half-hour on 7 of its last 8 original telecasts.

In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49,“The Middle” pulled its highest numbers in 6 weeks – since 2/10/10.

“Modern Family” (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Opposite Fox’s “American Idol” at 9:00 p.m., ABC’s “Modern Family” built on its lead-in by 50% to finish as the No. 1 scripted show in its time slot for its 5th week in a row among Adults 18-49 (3.6/10).

“Modern Family” qualified as Wednesday’s No. 1 scripted TV show in young Adults (AD18-34/AD18-49) for its 6th straight original broadcast.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 36% currently, from 30% at the same point in 2009. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 3/24/10.